Twisted Love
by Ariel Lynn
Summary: This is a Hermione and Draco based story. The title I got from the name of my favorite HrD shipper sites. This is my first story I've written on here so please read it and tell me what you think.
1. Chapter 1: It's Only the Beginning

_**A/N: Ok, so these first 7 chapters will be in their original wording ((unless something was horribly wrong with how it was written :P )). The only thing I've changed is spacing and punctuation, so if it reads kind of funny, keep in mind that they were written when I was like 12, so yeah. :P I was still learning back then. Also, the "000" stands for a change in time. And the italicized**_** paragraphs with *** on top and bottom is a dream. Just thought I'd throw that out there. Well, I do hope you enjoy. They're old, but I did a lot of work writing them back then and editing them today. :]**

As Hermione made her way down to the Heads compartment, she thought of who the Head Boy could be. '_I just hope it's not...' _she thought as she opened he door labeled Head Boy & Girl. "Malfoy!" she said when she saw him sitting, staring out the window.

'_No! Not her! This is going to be awful. I hate her!' _Draco thought when he saw Hermione step in. "Well, well. If it isn't, Granger." He said with the same awful smirk on his face.

'_This is going to be awful. I hate him!' _Hermione thought as she sat down and pulled out the book she had been reading over the summer.

Two hours later, which only felt like thirty minutes to Hermione, someone knocked on the compartment door. "Hermione! Come on. We're here already!" said Ron's voice from the other side of the compartment door.

"All right, Ron! Wait for me outside!" Hermione replied. She closed her book and put it in her Hogwarts trunk. "Malfoy?" she said when she saw him sitting up, fast asleep, "Malfoy!" He remained asleep. Hermione was getting frustrated. She knew she had to wake him up, but she also wanted to catch up with her friends. "Malfoy! Wake up!" she said louder, as she shook him. She watched his eyes as he squinted and opened them hastily.

"What do you think you're doing?" He had a point. There she was, staring at him with her hand on his knee.

She removed it quickly, "I just thought you'd like to know that we're here." He jumped up, fixed his hair which had gotten messed up while he was sleeping, and ran out of the compartment to, Hermione suspected, meet up with Crabbe and Goyle. Hermione left the compartment and got off the train to look for Harry and Ron.

000

At the beginning of the year feast, Professor Dumbledore told everyone that there would be a ball around Christmas time and that students who were in 4th year and up could attend. Dumbledore also requested that Hermione and Draco stay behind when the feast was done and over with.

When the lot of Hufflepuffs finally left, Draco and Hermione went up to Dumbledore to find out what he had to say. "Now, as Head Boy and Head Girl," he began, "You will be sharing a common room with each other."

'_Great, not only do I have to patrol with her, I have to share the same common room too.' _Draco thought.

"You will patrol on separate days since I see no need for there to be two of you patrolling at the same time with all of the school's prefects patrolling as well. Mr. Malfoy, you will patrol on Monday and Friday. Ms. Granger, you will patrol on Tuesday and Thursday..."

"But, Professor. What about Wednesday?" Hermione questioned.

"Neither of you will patrol unless you're told other wise. The prefects can take care of Wednesday and the weekends. Now, unless there are any questions...," he waited for any questions they might have, "You may be on your way. Oh, and the password is fairy lights. Now, off you go. I'm sure you'd like to get to bed early tonight for tomorrow." With out a word, Draco took off to their common room.

"Night, Professor." she said and she went to the Head's common room.

When she got to her new common room, she walked inside the already opened door. Inside, there were three other doors. One which was labeled Head Girl, one which was labeled Head Boy, and one that was apparently the bathroom. She stepped inside her bedroom and was surprised by the decorations. The walls were painted in maroon and gold. There was a double four-poster bed in the middle of the room, which was dressed in maroon sheets and gold pillows. And she had her own desk for her to work at. It didn't seem like much to other people, but, to her, it was perfect. After getting her things sorted, she went to the bathroom to take a warm bath.

"You call _this_ a bedroom? My basement is nicer than this. Oh well. I guess it's better than nothing." Draco said in disgust. His room was the same as Hermione's, but instead of maroon and gold, everything was green and grey. "Wonder if Granger found her way up here. I guess I can wait for her," he said and he went into the common room to wait for her.

"Ah. I really needed that," Hermione said as she pulled on her baby blue pajama bottoms, along with a plain white T-shirt. After she dried her hair using a simple drying spell, she walked out of the bathroom to see Draco sitting in the armchair closest to the fireplace, starring into the flame intensely. "Malfoy? What are you doing out here?" she said.

Like it had just hit him that he was sitting out there, he shook his head, blinked, and turned his head at her quickly to face her. "Oh...I thought that you hadn't made it up here yet, and I thought I'd wait for you." He told her.

"Oh. Thanks." she said and sat down on the couch and began to read her book. Not saying a word, Draco got up and went to take a bath himself.

About an hour later, it was nearly 1:00 in the morning and Draco still had yet to go to sleep. _'Maybe if I go and read for a while, I'll get sleepy,' _he thought as he grabbed a random book off of his desk and went out into the common room. When he stepped into the common room, he noticed that the fire was still as bright as it was six hours ago. Then he saw Hermione sitting on the couch, reading her book, looking almost as if she had been petrified. "Granger? What are you doing still up?" he said trying to get her attention. "Hm? What? Oh, I got so carried away with my book that I forgot what time it was. Speaking of which, what about you?" she said sounding rather sleepily.

"I can't get to sleep to save my life. I thought that if I try reading, I'll get tired enough to go to bed." He told her as he sat down beside her.

"Oh. Well, then I won't be a bother to you." She said and she went back to reading her book.

Fifteen minutes later, Draco still had yet to be able to concentrate on his book. He was curious to know what that book was that she was reading. It didn't say the title on the cover, so that didn't help him much. "So, what's that book called anyway?" he asked her finally.

"Oh," she turned her head to face him, "It's called _Twisted Love_."

"What's it about?" he asked.

"It's about this young man who's hated this girl for as long the two have known each other." she explained, "But, because of certain events, he for some reason can't get his mind off of her. She also can't get her mind off of him either. They want to express their feelings, but can't because their families are two well known enemies. And...well...that's as far as I've gotten"

"Hm...interesting, but not something I'd read," he said, "Although, there's not much that I will read either"

"You really should read more often," she suggested, "It's quite fun once you get used to it."

"Um...I'll pass on that," he yawned, "Well...we should probably get to bed." "What?" she looked at her watch, "Oh no! It's 1:25 a.m.! You're right, we should."

"_Draco, before you leave, there's something I have tell you..."she was cut short as his lips crashed into hers._

"_Yes, Hermione?" he said holding her gently in his arms._

"_N-nothing," and she hugged him tightly, "Nothing at all."_

"What the...!" Draco said after being woken up by his own dream, "Why would I be having dreams..." He then remembered Hermione's book. "No...that can't be it. I can't love her and hate at the same time. No. I won't allow it!" _'Why am I so mad? How come just after hearing about her stupid book am I having dreams of kissing her? And why her?' _All of these questions, and none them could he answer.


	2. Chapter 2: Real Sunsets

**The next day, was not a pleasant one for Draco. Not only could he not stay awake in any of his classes, but his dream; It was still in his head, replaying itself over and over again as if it nothing else better to do than to torture him all day. At last, it was his last class before lunch: Potions. Although, he couldn't stay awake in there either, even with Professor Snape yelling at him to wake up.**

"**Mr. Malfoy! Sit up and pay attention! If you're going to fall asleep, do so elsewhere." Snape said loudly, "As I was saying, Mr. Potter, you shall work with...Ms. Granger. And Mr. Weasley, you are with Mr. Malfoy."**

**Draco got up, walked over to Ron's desk and they got to work on their potion.**

"**Malfoy, are you going to help me or just sit there?" Ron asked angrily.**

"**What?" Draco looked at the clock. It'd been twenty minutes since he'd sat down at Ron's desk and he had done nothing, but sleep.**

"**You can't even remember why you're over here!" Ron said and turned to Harry to whispered to him, "I swear, Harry. If I get him as a partner again, I'll explode."**

**Draco got a glimpse of their potion before his eyes closed and he fell back asleep.**

"**Class dismissed!" Snape announced loudly.**

**Draco sat up looked around and saw that everyone was almost gone. He got up, gathered up his books and...**

"**Except for you Mr. Malfoy." Snape said when he saw Draco get up.**

"**Damn it. What now?" Draco said under his breath. He put his books down on a desk and went up to Professor Snape's desk, "Yes, sir?"**

"**Draco. What is with you today? You fall asleep the second you get here, you don't help Mr. Weasley with your potion, and you expect me not to say a word about it?" Snape said.**

**Draco could tell that Professor Snape was not in the mood for excuses, but what else could he tell him? "Professor, I didn't get much sleep last night so that's why I fell asleep. And when I woke up, Weasley was almost finished with the potion so...I just laid my head back down." Draco explained.**

"**Humph. Very well. Here," Snape handed him a piece of parchment with writing on it, "Ms. Granger took the liberty of writing the notes for you."**

**Draco took the parchment and left the classroom.**

…**...**

**As Hermione started to climb the stairs from the dungeons, she listened to Harry and Ron's conversation.**

"**Can you believe him? I get him to wake up just long enough for him to say, **_**'What?'**_** and he falls back asleep!" Ron complained.**

"**Hmm." she said idly.**

"**What?" Harry said, confused.**

"**You go on ahead. I'll catch up later." She told them.**

"**Um...alright. See ya." Ron said.**

**As Ron and Harry went up to lunch, Hermione walked back down the stairs and waited outside of Professor Snape's door.**

"**...almost finished with the potion so...I just laid my head back down." came Draco's voice.**

"**What?" she said under her breath.**

"**...Very well. Here..." came Snape's voice.**

**She continued to listen until she heard footsteps coming closer to the door. Thinking it was Snape, she began to walk quickly up the stairs.**

"**Granger? What are you still doing down here?" Draco asked from the bottom of the stairs.**

**She turned around and saw him walking up to her. "Oh...um...see...I...uh..." she stuttered.**

"**You...what?" he asked.**

**She changed the subject. She didn't have an explanation. "So, why have you been falling asleep all day?" she asked.**

'_**Why'd she change the subject?' **_**he thought. "Oh. I didn't get much sleep last night." He said hoping she wouldn't ask him why.**

"**Bad dream?" she said, more as a statement rather than a question.**

"**How'd you know?" he asked.**

"**You woke me up, too. All of a sudden I just heard you screaming your head off. Why else would you be screaming like that?" she said almost tripping over the last step.**

"**I was screaming? Whoa. I didn't know that." he said stunned.**

"**Well, see you, Draco." She said as she went to go into The Great Hall.**

"**Wait. Did you just call me Draco?" he asked, stunned.**

"**It is your name, isn't it?" she said.**

"**Well, yes, but you've never called me by my first name. Oh, and thanks for writing the notes down for me," he said.**

"**You're welcome." And she walked inside The Great Hall for lunch.**

**Draco went upstairs to put his books away and then go to lunch himself.**

…**...**

"**Why do you think Hermione stayed behind?" Ron asked.**

"**I've been thinking about that and I can't figure it out either." Harry said.**

"**Do you think…she might have gone back…to talk to Snape?" Ron said in between mouthfuls of bread. "Maybe." Harry said as he took a drink of pumpkin juice. The two of them continued to stuff their faces full of food.**

"**Potter!" came Goyle's voice.**

**Harry turned around in his seat and saw Crabbe and Goyle walking toward them.**

"**You haven't seen Malfoy, have you?" Goyle asked.**

**Harry could here Ron cursing under his breath. "Not since Potions." Harry said.**

**Crabbe made tight fists, Goyle glared at them and they both turned and walked back to Slytherin's table.**

"**Hermione **_**and**_** Malfoy missing at the same time? Harry, doesn't this appear to be a bit odd?" Ron asked.**

"**What?" said Hermione.**

**The two boys looked across the table and there sat Hermione. "Where've you been?" Ron asked.**

"**Oh. I went back to talk to Professor Snape about today's lesson." she said. She couldn't tell them that she had gone back for Draco.**

"**Oh. It's just, Crabbe and Goyle came by looking for Malfoy and...you know. You **_**and**_** Malfoy missing at the same time seemed a bit odd." Harry said.**

"**What's so odd about it?" she asked.**

"**I don't know. It's just...ugh. Never mind." Ron said.**

…**...**

**As the day went on, Draco kept thinking about how Hermione had called him by his first name. For the first time during his time at Hogwarts, he wasn't called 'Malfoy' or 'Mr. Malfoy' or even 'A jumpy little ferret'. **_**'Great. It's happening again. I'm thinking about her in a nice way! Why?'**_** he thought. Once Defense Against the Dark Arts ended, he went back up stairs to go and relax in his room until dinner began. He walked inside his room, locked the door, laid his books on his desk, and fell backwards onto his bed. Finally he could maybe get some sleep without being woken up. He closed his eyes...**

'_**And there she was. Sitting underneath the apple tree by the lake, looking out at the beautiful horizon. The sun was setting. The water was glistening like a sea of stars. The sky had turned into a beautiful shade pink and orange. The wind just barely blowing through her brown hair. It was quiet and so...peaceful.**_

"_**If only it could last forever," he heard her say.'**_

**His eyes opened. "Whoa," he sat up, "That was so...beautiful. I wonder if it's really that beautiful at night?" he said. **_**'Hey! I know what I'll do. Tonight, just as the sun starts to set, I'll go out to that apple tree by the lake and see it with my own eyes.' **_**he thought.**

**That night, after dinner, Draco went out on to the grounds, found the apple tree he'd seen in his dream, sat under it, and waited for the sunset to come. About an hour later, Draco had fallen asleep while he was waiting.**

"**Draco?" Hermione said. She walked over and started to shake him.**

**He opened his eyes with a jolt. He looked up and saw her smiling down at him.**

"**Dosed off did we?" she said and giggled as she sat down beside him.**

"**I guess so. I came out here after dinner to watch the sunset." he told her.**

**She looked over at him with a confused look on her face. "Really? I didn't know you liked to watch sunsets, too." she said.**

"**Well, actually, I saw a sunset that was here in a dream I had today and I wanted to see if it was real or not." he said.**

"**The sunsets are always beautiful. Especially when you view them from under this tree. The water glistens like a sea of stars..." she started.**

**Draco cut her off, "And the sky turns into a shade of pink and orange?"**

"**Yeah. And the wind just barely blows..." she continued.**

"**And it's so peaceful and quiet. And you..." he said.**

"**Yes. Exactly. How do you know if you've never seen it?" she asked.**

"**That's how it appeared in my dream." He decided to tell the rest of his dream, "And you were there. You were sitting in this same spot. The wind was just barely blowing your hair. And you were saying that you wish it could stay for ever." He looked over at her and saw the shocked look on her face. "I know," he said quietly.**


	3. Chapter 3: Cold Flame

"Draco. I think I'm...um...going to go," Hermione said as she stood up and turned to walk back up to the castle.

"Wait!" Draco called after her. He ran up and blocked her path, "I didn't mean to freak you out or anything. I'm just telling you what I saw."

"Oh...no. It's not that. It's just...my book." She said almost too quiet for Draco to hear.

"What about your book?" he asked.

"It's nothing. Just forget it." She said and she walked past him up towards the castle.

Draco turned around and watched her walk farther and farther away from him. _'What made me do that? Normally, I'd just sit there and let her leave.' _he thought. Suddenly, a cold wind hit him in the face and sent chills throughout his body. He pulled his jacket up around his face, stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked back up to the castle himself. All he could think about was how the warm fire in their common room would feel.

…...

'_Why is he acting so strange lately?' _Hermione wondered as she walked up the hill toward the castle. "I'm so cold. I wasn't this cold earlier," she said with her teeth chattering furiously. _'Wait. When I was with him just a few minutes ago, I felt...so warm. I-it must have just been some of his body heat. We were rather close to each other,' _she thought. When she got inside, she rushed up to their common room. So quickly, in fact, that she didn't even stop to talk to Harry and Ron when she passed them in the corridor. "Grr...do I have to do everything around here?" she complained when she walked in to find...nothing. No fire in the fireplace at all. She started a fire up and went to put on her black sweatpants and pink sweater Mrs. Weasley had made her. She sat down on the couch and curled up into a little ball.

…...

As Draco walked up the stairs to the common room he saw Potter and Weasley coming towards him with confused looks on their faces. As he passed them he could've sworn that he heard Weasley say, "That jumpy little ferret." He probably would've slapped him upside the head, but all he could think about was getting to the common and warming up in front of the fire. "Fairy lights!" he said and the door slowly opened. When he walked in, he saw the fire had been lit and Granger curled up asleep. He went into his bedroom, opened the closet door, pulled out the green and gray quilt that was in there and went out to wrap it around her. He actually thought he could see a small smile appear on her face. He hung his jacket up in his closet and sat down in the armchair closest to the flames. He too, soon closed his eyes and fell asleep.

…...

Later, Hermione woke up and noticed that the fire had gone out, but she was still warm. When she raised her hands above her head, the quilt came off of her hands and fell over her head. She pulled it off, looked around and saw Draco asleep in the armchair. She then got up, laid the quilt on him, and went into her bedroom to go back to sleep in her own bed.


	4. Chapter 4: The First Sign

'_As she slowly walked over to the figure on the couch where she had left him, she felt cold all over her body, as if all of her blood had turned to ice. She knelt down, face to face with the boy, and noticed that strands of hair had fallen in front of his eyes. `Would he awaken at the slightest touch of my hand?` she thought as she tucked the strands behind his ear. As she had thought, her hand had rubbed against his face and he had awakened. Afraid of confronting him, she stood up and ran inside her bedroom, "His skin is so soft and...warm." She let out a long sigh and slid down her door.'_

Hermione shot up with widened eyes and she was breathing heavily. "Wh-what the? I-I don't believe it. Do...do I have feelings for...Malfoy?" she said in disbelief. She heard a knock at her door.

"Granger?" came Draco's voice, "You alright?"

"Um...yeah. I'm alright." She responded. She then looked down at her watch and saw that she had just enough time to get dressed before breakfast began. She got up, walked over to her closet, and put on her robes.

When she got down to The Great Hall, she took the seat across from Harry and Ron, who were discussing their upcoming Quidditch match against Ravenclaw.

"So, you're not going start day dreaming this time, are you?" Ron asked.

"Ron! That was last year and I couldn't help it. Cho and I had just started dating then, too." Harry told him. During that match, Harry had started to day dream and Cho ended up catching the snitch, making Ravenclaw win. Ever since then, Ron always joked about it anytime they were going to play Ravenclaw.

"Aw, mate. You know I'm just messing with you." Ron exclaimed and all three of them burst with laughter.

Just as she was leaving, Hermione could hear Ron still joking with Harry about their Quidditch match. As she made her way to Arithmancy, she saw Draco standing at the top of the stairs, as if he were waiting for someone. She passed him trying to keep her mouth shut about this morning. _'What if I woke up screaming too, but I just didn't know it?'_ She looked back and saw him walking back down stairs. "Malfoy!" she called after him.

He looked up and when he saw who had called his name, a confused look fell upon his face.

"Draco..." she said trying to catch her breath after running from the top of the stairs down to the bottom.

"What?" he asked.

"This morning...was I screaming...you know...like you did?" she questioned.

He looked at her confused before saying, "No, I don't think so. At least I didn't hear you screaming."

She smiled and without a word, walked back up the stairs toward the Arithmancy classroom.

'_What in the world is wrong with her today?'_ he thought. He had made it all the way to Transfiguration and had done nothing, but wonder about Hermione.

"Mr. Malfoy," Professor McGonagall said sounding rather annoyed, "Exactly how do you expect to graduate if you can't even afford to pay attention?"

"Er…sorry, Professor," he apologized. As Draco sat there, staring at the professor, he tried to concentrate, but kept thinking of Hermione...again. "Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!" he shouted while hitting himself in the head.

"Mr. Malfoy! Exactly what do you think you're doing?" McGonagall shrieked.

He stopped dead, looked around, and he could feel his cheeks getting hot from embarrassment.

"Mr. Malfoy, I'm sorry, but I have no choice," she said with disappointment in her voice, "You are excused from my classroom and you will receive a failing grade for today."

"But, Professor! I—I didn't mean to!" he said rather loudly.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Malfoy. But you leave me no choice," she said as she waved him out of the classroom.

He stood up, snatched up his books, and stormed off toward his common room.

"Way to go, Draco," he said quietly to himself. Apparently, he wasn't quiet enough because he got a reply from someone who wasn't him.

"What happened?" Hermione said, sitting down beside him.

"Oh...in Transfiguration today I...uh...kind of had an outburst," he said sounding embarrassed.

"What triggered it?" she asked.

He had to think, for once, before he spoke. "Well...technically, you. But not you exactly. See, I've been thinking about this morning when you asked me if you were screaming or not. Well, after I told you 'no' you smiled at me and walked off as if nothing happened. I've been trying to figure that out all day long," he explained.

"Oh. Well, I didn't mean to send you the wrong idea, but I wasn't meaning to smile _at_ you. I smiled because I knew that I wouldn't have to be embarrassed anymore...if that makes any sense?" she said.

"Oh…okay! I understand. You had me worried for a moment," he said as he laughed out loud.

"What do you mean?" she asked with a look of confusion on her face.

"It's just...well...you know. When you smiled at me like that, it made me think that you...I don't know...liked me," he said, still laughing at the thought.

She giggled softly and said, "But Draco, I do like you."

He had stopped laughing, "What?" he said in a serious tone.

"Hold on. Let me rephrase that. I—um—what I meant, and should have said, is that I respect you as a person," she explained.

"Oh...okay. For a second there I thought.…" he began.

Hermione cut him off, "Oh, don't be foolish, Draco! Of course I don't like you in such ways!"

"I know! Sorry," he shouted. With that, he got up and walked into his bedroom.

After a few moments, Hermione got up as well saying under her breath, "Why must I be so...bossy?"


	5. Chapter 5: No Effort

A week had passed and Hermione hadn't said a word to Draco since that night. He had tried to approach her before, but she had done a good job of avoiding him at all costs. But today she would have an excuse to be avoiding him. Today was the first Quidditch match of the season. It was going to be Gryffindor verses Ravenclaw. At breakfast, she sat across the table from her friends as she urged them to eat something before the big match.

"Hermione, what if we eat so much that during the match we...well. Become too ill to play, if you know what I mean," Ron kept telling her.

"I know what you mean, Ron, but what if you don't anything and you still become too ill to play because your bodies become weak!" she shot back, raising her voice a little.

"She has a point, you know," Harry said to Ron, quietly.

"Fine," Ron took an apple and bit into it, "You happy now?"

"Look. If you don't want to take my advice and lose, be my guest!" she snapped. She then got up and stormed out of the Great Hall.

Ron looked at the empty place at the table across from him and then at the apple in his hand. "Way to go, Weasley," Ron said quietly to himself as he put the apple down and followed Hermione's trail.

…...

"Look. If you don't want to take my advice and lose, be my guest!" came Hermione's voice.

At this, Draco looked up at the Gryffindor table. As he watched her storm out of the Great Hall and Weasley shortly getting up to follow her, he looked back and forth at Crabbe and Goyle, whose faces were filled with confusion. "I'll be back," Draco said as he got up and left the Great Hall as well.

When he got out into the Entrance Hall, he saw Weasley talking to Hermione on the stairs. He couldn't hear anything they were saying, but was soon too taken a back to care. As he stood there in the doorway he saw what he thought could've been his worst nightmare. Weasley had kissed her and Hermione made no effort to stop him. At this, Draco felt his eyes fill with tears. For the first time ever, Draco had finally accepted the fact. The fact that he, Draco Malfoy, was in love with her, Hermione Granger. He quickly hid behind one of the statues and waited for the two of them to go back into the Great Hall. When they did, he jolted up the marble staircase, ran inside his bedroom, locked the door, laid down on his bed, and shoved his face in his pillow. It was quite a childish thing to do, but at the time, he didn't want to see anything except darkness, for Draco Malfoy's heart had been broken.

…...

"Go Gryffindor!" Hermione cheered as she watched Ron block another one of Ravenclaw's attempts to score and Harry getting closer to the snitch.

The score was 70-30. Gryffindor was ahead. Suddenly, there was a burst of loud screams, laughter, and cries of excitement as Harry jumped and caught the snitch, without plummeting toward the ground.

"And Gryffindor wins!" came Lee Jordan's voice.

As the players made their way down toward the ground, most of the Gryffindor students, Hermione included, rushed down to greet them. When she finally found Harry and Ron in the crowd, they all pulled themselves out and left the Quidditch pitch. As they walked around the grounds and talked about the match, Ron's attention kept drifting towards Hermione.

When they got inside, Harry and Ron went into the Great Hall to get something to eat while Hermione went up stairs to take a quick nap before dinner. When she walked inside, she felt a strange and cold kind of feeling in the air. She looked at the fireplace and saw a blazing fire inside it. Almost immediately, the bathroom door swung open and out came Draco, his face tear streaked. "Draco! What's wrong?" she asked, worried.

Draco took a deep breath, sat down on the couch, and motioned for her to come sit beside him.

As she sat down, she asked again, "What's wrong?"

He thought long and hard about what her reaction would be to the truth, then gave up and told her. "Today. In the Great Hall," he looked at her and could see the concerned look on her face, "I saw you and Weasley. You know, when he kissed you." Bringing back the scene into his head made a knot form in his stomach.

"But that's not something to cry about..." she began.

He cut her off. "Yes it is!" his hands were now on her shoulders, squeezing so hard that her skin underneath turned cold and ghost white, "I love you, Hermione!" With that, he placed his lips on hers and Hermione made no effort to push him away.


	6. Chapter 6: Trouble in Hogsmeade

As Draco pulled back away from Hermione, he looked down at her to see her reaction and was surprised by what he saw. There was a twinkle in her eyes, instead of the fury and anger he had expected. Her mouth had taken the shape of a big smile. But, what surprised him more was what she said to him.

Instead of the rude remarks he had expected to hear from her she said, "Draco, do you really mean what you just said? Because if you don't mean something, don't say it."

"Yes, Hermione. I mean it. I have honestly fell in love with you," he told her. He was absolutely sure that he and Hermione were meant to be.

"Okay. Then, I'm going to relieve you of this burden. Ron's kiss meant nothing," she said. By now, her hands had moved up to his chest. "Yes, he does like me, but Ron is like a brother to me. Actually, I'm afraid I might've fallen for you, too." She giggled slightly at the thought of this.

He looked down at her like he'd just won the Quidditch World Cup. But, to him, she was much better. He needed to ask her, but not yet. Enough had happened for tonight. He stood, faked a yawn, and said, "Well, tonight has been full of surprises. I'd say all of this excitement has made me tired. How 'bout we go to bed and possibly talk about this some more in the morning?"

"Alright. Actually, I'm pretty tired myself." She stood up on her tip toes and gave him a peck on the cheek, "Good night, Draco."

As she turned around and walked back into her room, Draco laid back on the couch and smiled. Soon, he got up and went into his room to go to bed. He laid his head down on his pillow and closed his eyes. And the minute he did, he saw her smiling back at him.

000

The next morning, Hermione woke up feeling completely fresh. There, in the back of her head, were still memories of the night before. As she got ready, those same memories played back through her mind. She questioned herself: how she was going to be able to concentrate on her weekend with Harry and Ron with those memories still in her head? She just shrugged and went down stairs to meet them in the Great Hall.

…...

"Come on Ron. Hermione is going to be wondering where we are." Harry told his best friend, sounding rather annoyed.

Ron was still in bed, his head underneath the covers. "Just a few more minutes, Harry. We don't have to go now. She can't possibly be up yet," Ron mumbled.

"Have you forgotten? This is Hermione we're talking about. Of course she could be up by now," Harry said.

Ron sighed, "Alright, alright. I'm getting up." Ron pulled the covers from his head and went to his trunk to find something to wear.

"I'll go wait in the common room." Harry said as he walked toward the door, "Could you please hurry this time Ron? I told Hermione we'd meet her for breakfast, not lunch."

At this, Ron threw his pillow at Harry's face, "I wish you'd stop bringing that up!"

Harry laughed, threw the pillow back and left their dormitory.

After Ron was finished getting dressed, he patted his mop of hair down and left the dormitory as well.

When he got down there, Harry jumped up and started to run out of the common room, "Last one there spends the day with Snape!" Harry yelled back.

"Yeah, you'll think," Ron said and he took off chasing after Harry.

…...

As Hermione made her way down the marble staircase, she could hear voices coming from the Entrance Hall.

"Ron! Stop it!" came Harry's voice, followed by Ron's laughter.

When she got to the bottom of the stairs, she saw Ron with his arm around Harry's head, rubbing the top of his head with his knuckles. Hermione let out a long sigh, "Don't you two ever grow up?"

"No." Harry and Ron said in unison.

Hermione laughed slightly and separated them. As they walked into the Great Hall, they saw that there was almost no one in there, which was normal for the weekends. Most of Hogwarts students went to Hogsmeade and ate at The Three Broomsticks. After they got done eating breakfast, they made their way to Hogsmeade for a day of fun.

When they got there, the first place they went was The Shrieking Shack. Every year since Lupin, their Defense against the Dark Arts teacher from 3rd year, resigned, he'd been staying there and they always visited him when they went to Hogsmeade. At The Shrieking Shack, Hermione told him how she had become Head Girl, Harry told him how he had caught this snitch in their last Quidditch match, and Ron told him how he had become the captain of the Gryffindor team. He, of course, congratulated them all and told them how he had been doing lately. Afterwards, the three of them left and went straight to The Three Broomsticks. There, Ron ordered them a round of butter beers while Harry and Hermione went back to their usual table.

After a while, Hermione noticed that someone was watching them, but when she looked up, she saw no one. Then, while she was pretending to be listening to her two friends, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Draco staring at her more than them. "Um...I'll be back. Don't you two go off and be getting into trouble," she told them with a giggled. She then got up, and started to walk over to Draco's table, but when she saw who he was sitting with, she stopped dead. Smiling, across the table, was Pansy Parkinson, whose hands were cupped with Draco's. At this, Hermione gasped and slowly started to walk backwards out of the pub. Draco apparently heard her and turned around. When he saw Hermione walking away from him, he tried to get up and go after her, but Pansy wouldn't let go of his hands. Soon, Hermione turned around and ran out of the pub, tears forming in her eyes.

…...

As he sat there, staring at his butter beer, he tried to think of what he was going to say. Soon, he saw someone sit down across from him. He looked up and saw Pansy Parkinson, his ex-girlfriend, looking at him curiously.

"Is something bothering you, Malfoy?" she asked, with her head tilted.

'_Maybe she can help me,' _he thought. "Yes, but I'll only tell you if you promise not to say a word," he threatened.

"Alright. I promise," she replied.

"Ok. I...uh...want to ask Hermione..." he began.

"Herm-!" she said loudly.

Draco put his hand over her mouth, shook his head at her, and looked back at Hermione's table. He looked back at her, "I want to ask Hermione to be my girlfriend, but I don't know how to ask her."

Pansy gave him a funny look and removed his hands, "What do you mean you don't know how to ask her? You knew how to ask me."

"Um...actually, I had Crabbe and Goyle help me," he confessed.

"Oh my gosh, Malfoy. Alright. You can practice on me. Now, where and when did you want to ask her?" she asked.

"Um...well...I was going to ask her under the apple tree by the lake," he told her.

"Ok. Now, take my hands, pretend that I'm Hermione, and ask me," she told him.

He looked around again, turned back around, took Pansy's hands, and began to speak, "Hermione...I've been thinking about what happened last night and..." he looked around back at her, "And I've been trying to ask you something very important since then..." he turned back around at Pansy, "So...um...I was wondering…wondering if...you'd like to be my girlfriend?"

"Aww...Malfoy. You'll do great. As long as you don't stutter like you just did, I can't see why she wouldn't say yes," Pansy said, smiling.

Draco was feeling better now that he thought he might have a chance. All of a sudden, he heard someone gasp behind him. He turned around to see who it was and when he saw Hermione walking backwards away from him, he stood up, but Pansy still had a hold of his hands. He saw her run out of the shop, "Pansy, let go! I need to go find her," he yelled. She let go of his hands and he took off running after her.

When he got outside, he looked around and saw her running toward the end of Hogsmeade. He hastened his pace so he could catch her before she went too far and got lost. Finally, just before she left Hogsmeade, he caught her. He jumped in front of her, causing her to hit him and fall backwards. He knelt down in front of her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Hermione, I don't know what you heard, but I can explain..." he said.

She was sobbing, "I thought you meant what you said!" she screamed, then paused. "I can't believe I actually believed you," she said in a low voice and tried to stand up, but he forced her back down. This caused her to shake with fear.

"Hermione! I did mean what I said! It's just Pansy was helping me figure out how to ask you...!" he began.

Hermione sniffed and gave him a confused look, "Ask me what, Draco?" she asked.

His eyes widened at what he had just revealed and he looked to the ground.

She tilted his head up to look at her, "Draco...what is it?"

He reached into his pocket, took out the tiny box from his pocket, opened it, and showed her what was inside.

Her eyes widened when she saw what the little box contained. Inside was a golden ring that had a small, heart-shaped, sapphire in it. She removed it from the box, looked on the inside, and saw 'HG' and 'DM' engraved on the band. She looked up at him, surprised, "Draco...wha-what is this?" she asked.

He took it from her, put it on her left ring finger, "Hermione...ever since last night, I haven't been able to get you off of my mind. I've been thinking and there's something I need to ask you," he paused, "See this is what Pansy was helping me with. She was helping me figure out what to say when I asked you if you would be my girlfriend." He watched her and saw her eyes travel back-and-forth from him to the ring he had given her.

She stood up, turned around, walked away from him, and stopped. "Umm...Hermione?" he said, sounding confused.

She turned back around, smiled at him, and nodded her head.

His eyes widened slightly when he saw this. He rushed over to her, picked her up, and twirled her around in the air. Then, as he placed her back on the ground, he lowered his head and kissed her gently.


	7. Chapter 7: Nothing But Truthful Lies

_**Two months had passed since Draco had asked Hermione to be his girlfriend and things were becoming almost better than great. The only problem with their relationship was that it was them. Their relationship was a secret to everyone, even the friends they had known their whole lives. Surprisingly, Hermione didn't have to even try to hide the ring he'd given her. When people had come up to her and asked her where she had gotten it, she would simply tell them it was a late birthday gift from her parents. Now, in two weeks, the two of them would end their secret life by attending the Christmas Ball together and not holding anything back. They planed to dance together, hold hands, kiss, hug, and have a good time together without having to worry about what people would say.**_

_**000**_

_**One night, as she was returning to her room from a long night of studying in the library, someone in a long, hooded, black cloak cornered her in the corridor. She soon found that it was Harry, after he had removed his hood.**_

"_**Oh. Hi, Harry," she said when she saw his face.**_

"_**I'm sorry. Do I know you? No, I know someone who looks like you, but there's something different about you," he replied.**_

"_**Harry, it's me. Hermione. Your best friend," she said.**_

"_**Are you sure? Lately, I'm not sure if you are anymore," anger was visible in his voice.**_

"_**What do you mean?" she asked, a little hurt.**_

"_**Well, let's see. You don't pay attention to me nor Ron. Every time we ask you to do something, you make up some excuse not to go. And we barely see you anymore. Hm...you tell me, Hermione. What do**_** I mean?" he said, rage building inside of him.**

"**Well...I-uh...er...I-I-I have a life besides you two, you know," she lied.**

**Harry sighed, looked down, and noticed the ring on her hand, "What's this?" he grabbed her hand to see it closer.**

"**Oh, you know. A late birthday gift from my parents," she lied again. Hermione's throat felt like she had just attempted to swallow a rock and failed. She was starting to heat up quickly and become nervous.**

**As she walked away, Harry called after her, "You're a poor liar."**

**She stopped dead in her tracks. **_**'How does he know?' **_**she thought. She turned around to look him in the eyes.**

**His green eyes searched her brown eyes, "Do you love him?" he said suddenly.**

**She was startled by this, "Wh-who?"**

"**Malfoy...honestly answer me...do you truly love him?" he said quietly.**

**There was a long pause of silence, "Yes...but...how did you know?" she looked at her friend questionably.**

"**You're easy to read. See, unlike Ron, you have a conscience."**

"**Yes, this is true. But, whatever you do, please do not tell Ron. You know just as well as I do that he'll go insane," she pleaded.**

"**I know, I know. Alright," he looked back at the ring closely, "Hmm...seems Malfoy is serious about this too. How long?"**

"**Huh?" she asked.**

"**How long have you two been together?" he rephrased.**

"**Oh. Um...two months," she said nervously, waiting to see if Harry would blow up in her face.**

"**Two months! Hermione, why didn't you tell us?" he said, looking surprised.**

"**I didn't know how you would take it and I didn't want to find out," she said, pulling her hand way from him.**

**He looked at her, walked past her, and called back to her, "Goodnight, Hermione."**

'_**Gryffindor on one side, Slytherin on the other, and their families with the rest of their child's house. In the middle, Draco and Hermione were holding on to each other with one hand each, trying to resist their houses strength as they pulled hard, slowly separating the two. Finally, their hands slipped and they lost their grip to each other. As they were being dragged farther and farther away from each other, the two sides filled with rage and were becoming violent, threatening each other...'**_

"**NO!" she screamed as she shot up from her bad, beginning to soak with sweat. Slowly, starting to breathe normally, she removed her covers and sat on the edge of her bed.**

**Soon, her bedroom door burst open, "Hermione, you alright?" Draco said sounding a little worried.**

"**What? Oh, um...yeah. Just fine. It must've just been a bad dream," she replied. **_**'Calling it a bad dream is an understatement,' **_**she thought, **_**'That was a horrific nightmare.'**_

"**Okay. Whatever you say. Are you sure?" he asked again.**

"**Yes, I'm sure. It was nothing," she said, trying to sound calm.**

**He turned and walked out, "Sure didn't sound like nothing," he muttered under his breath.**

…**...**

**As Draco walked out into the common room to wait for Hermione to awaken, he could feel a cold, unwelcoming atmosphere in there. He sat down on the couch and got up almost as quickly when he heard her screaming.**

**When he ran inside, he saw her sitting on her bed, sweat covering her body, looking terrified. "Hermione, you alright?" he asked, trying to hide the fear in his voice.**

"**What? Oh, um...yeah. Just fine. It must've just been a bad dream," she stuttered.**

"**Ok. Whatever you say. Are you sure?" he said, trying to get her to tell him the truth.**

"**Yes, I'm sure. It was nothing," she replied in a fake calming voice that was not her own.**

**Angered, he turned and walked out muttering, "Sure didn't sound like nothing."**

**Inside his room, he tried to think long and hard. **_**'What's wrong with her? And why would she lie to me about whatever it is? Doesn't she trust me?' **_**He ended up sitting there, thinking so long and hard that his head felt numb by the time he left for breakfast.**

…**...**

**Down in the Great Hall, everyone was piling in trying to find seats by their friends at the long house tables. It was the same for Hermione. As she made her way over to Harry and Ron, she could see Draco out of the corner of her eye walking over to Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy at Slytherin table. When she got over to her friends, they stopped talking immediately.**

"**Oh. Hey, Hermione. Um...so we were just talking about the Christmas Ball. Harry's going with Ginny and I'm going with Kaitlyn. You know, the 7th**** year girl from Hufflepuff that we met in Hogsmead? So, anyways. Who're you going with?" Ron asked.**

**Hermione hesitated for a while about this, "Um...well. I'm going with someone, but um...I wanted it to be a surprise so...I'm not saying."**

**Ron looked over at Harry, who was staring directly at her, and back at Hermione, "What do you mean, **_**a surprise**_**?" he asked.**

"**I mean, you won't know until the ball so don't ask," she replied, aggravated.**

"**In other words..." Ron began, but when he saw the look Harry was giving him, he stopped.**

**After breakfast ended, the three of them made their way to their only class that morning. Double Charms with the Hufflepuffs.**

**When Professor Flitwick assigned them to get into groups of four to practice **_**Aguamenti**_**. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and a girl from Hufflepuff, who had her brown hair pulled up into two uneven pigtails, went over to a corner of the class room to practice.**

**Ron went over to the Hufflepuff, gave her a hug, and introduced her to Harry and Hermione. "Harry, Hermione. This is Kaitlyn. Remember, I told you about her," he looked at Kaitlyn, "Kaitlyn, this is Harry," he pointed at Harry. Then he pointed at Hermione, "And this is..."**

"**Oh. I **_**know**_** who she is," Kaitlyn finally spoke up. She went over to Hermione. "Hermione Granger. I can't believe that I'm actually talking to you. You don't know how much I idolize you." She took Hermione's hand and shook it in her own two.**

"**Um...well...thank you. That's very kind of you, Kaitlyn." Hermione smiled awkwardly at Kaitlyn, who was a little bit shorter then herself.**

**The rest of Charms was quiet, except for a few girls who kept getting sprayed when their charm backfired. After Charms, they had a break period, in which Hermione went up to her room to rest.**

**When she got inside the common room, she placed her bag on the floor, and laid down on the couch. **_**'That Kaitlyn girl is a little strange. She idolizes me? Why?' **_**she thought. "Oh never mind!" she sat straight up, "Why am I worrying about why some girl idolizes me?"**

"**I don't know. Why are you?" said a male voice.**

**Hermione jumped, "Draco! Don't startle me like that!" she told him.**

**He laughed, "Sorry, Hermione. But it's just way too easy to scare you."**

**She glared at him, then went to her room to put her things away before she went down to lunch.**

**During lunch, Hermione sat separate from her friends. Every time she looked down at them, they gave her looks that were questioning, angered, and upset. But Hermione did not pay any attention, for she felt she needed this time to think. **_**'I know I need to tell Ron, but...how exactly do I do that without him going off on Draco and me?' **_**she asked herself, not expecting any kind of reply.**

**Suddenly, she heard her mother's voice in her head, **_**'If someone really loves someone, they will only act for the greater good.'**_

**At the time, Hermione had not understood, but now... **_**'Maybe,'**_** she thought, **_**'what mum means that if Ron is really my best friend, then he will respect my decision. He may not like it, but he'll respect it.' **_**She smiled and looked down at her red headed friend and realized... '**_**What am I thinking? It's Ron I'm talking about here. He'll never understand my love for Draco...' **_**Hermione stood up and hurried out of the Great Hall, her stomach twisted in knots, and ran up to her bedroom to crawl under the Slytherin blanket Draco had given her.**


End file.
